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Why this poster thinks LOTRO is one of the best on the market.
Mrbloodworth
Member Posts: 5,615
I can only tell you why I feel its the best experiences to be had in an mmo. Of course, this is all my opinion, but some of it is undeniable.
LOTRO has some of the best story lines, they are well written, engaging, and at times read like a series of short stories about the area you are in. They add great flavor to the zone, or town and its peoples you are meeting, and the back story of the place you are in. The progression has many paths to it (not talking about epic quest line at this point) there are quite frankly more quests (Not including Kill X) than you can possibly do before you out level them. This adds to the fun of playing an alt, and going a different way this time. There is always a new path you can take to advance, and meet your personal goals. Crafting has always been more complete and balanced than in any other MMO, as turbine likes to fill in the gaps of various loot drops in the players level range with crafted things, keeping all items viable.Of course raiding gear is the best in the game, but that does not matter, because it in no way means that all other gear from all other sources are junk and worthless (As some extremists that hate fun would have you think), and you can still have a great experiences. Its is absolooty possible to find things to do and advance with out raid gear and you will stall have a good time.
The instance work Turbine does it top notch, from mobs crashing threw walls, to entire scenes acted out in front of you, they do not simply use scripting as a tool, they have very much refined it as an art form. Most instances, those in the epic quest line, or standalone, are very well done in terms of telling a story. Quite the opposite of other games were you realize, this instance is really just here for you to get loot, and the background story they made is just a vain attempt to validate that.
Exploration is very high, and you will be rewarded by the time the world builders have taken to really make the world feel alive and lived in. The details here and there are higher than any other MMO I have played. One of the most compelling features is the games draw distance, i still to this day, see silhouettes of things in the distance, that spurs me onto my own adventure to see what it is up close.
Players are EXTREMELY customizable in this game, especially in the case of visuals, and for the fluff lovers out there, there are a large number of cosmetics and items you can adventure for if you like. I never see any two players that look alike, and as far as builds go, the only players that are clones are raiders... but such is the life of raiding.
Place an extremely well crafted world, beautiful visuals, awesomely scripted instances, and a huge epic quest line (Where most of the games instances are) on top of a HIGHLY refined combat system, and loads of "Quality of life" features. Top it all off with one of the best values for the money, and that the developer puts out more quality content, most times free, than any other developer. And you have one of the best PvE experiences in any MMO title.
That's basically it, it is an extremely solid experience.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
Comments
i agree with your thread, but having tried LOTRO several times (i really want to like it), i still cant get over the combat hitching. im waiting for the upcoming overhaul. i have faith.
I got a chance to play with it, it does make things much more snappy, but does not remove the more tactical nature of the combat system. This is just another of those things turbine does consistently, they are always improving the game for everyone.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
Agreed. LOTRO is simply a masterpiece, yet like all other games there are a few flaws.
The NPC's (Humanoids) all look so dead and boring. They carry the same facial expression when they live, fight and die. They show no anger, pain or fear. It bugs me a little but is not game breaking.
Our Characters are not the most beautiful piece of art. They should really redo them and make them more... Human.
The combat animations look a little boring after a while. They should make them faster, which would also make the combat faster, and more lively.
This is just my opinion and i know that many of you don't see these as problems
Otherwise LOTRO is a great PVE experience with an awesome story and the best community I've ever seen.
Yes, its not perfect but what game is? I like to look at the larger picture, and my total experience.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
nvm i gotta learn to read the entire post.Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe.
It is a good little game. I recommend it to people whenever they ask me for an MMO to try. It is worth trying for sure. I have tried a few times to play it more, but I just personally can't get into it. It is probably because I'm not that into Tolkien to begin with.
It is indeed a solid PvE experience with nice exploration and well done instancing, also a nice crafting system, housing and really good graphics to top it off.
Some more sandbox elements wouldn't hurt ( but may detract from the PvE experience ), but what I really miss is meaningfull PvP, that is the reason why I am currently not subbed anymore.
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site :
http://mmodata.blogspot.be/
Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
One may not agree with all the design decisions that Turbine has made to bring this game to the market but I think most will agree that it is a well crafted game with a very high degree of polish. As a traditional PvE game this is a fun game. I would suspect that for the old style role player that this game would be a near perfect setting. It may not be everyone's favorite game but for many it will be.
As far as sandbox elements, i feel it currently has more than most titles. It has one of the best RP settings, it has an expansive cosmetics system, and its the only MMO I know of you can compose and play music note by note inside.
This was part of my "Quality of life" stuff. Really adds flavor to encounter so many people playing music in social hubs.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
You know, for a while I enjoyed LOTRO, playing with my friend, singing Bob Marley songs around while killing mobs. Some of the chapter instances were cool as well. I'm waiting for the SoM and see what are they gonna do with combat. I don't want it just like WoW but it feels awkard at times.
My major gripe right now is item space, there is so much to collect in game now, and I am a whore for cosmetic items, i am very much looking forward to the shared storage system. I was ecstatic when they made things tack to 100.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
As a player with a whole 2 weeks of experience, I haven't found combat animations to be a problem at all (though I'm not a fan of some of the char faces). Likewise with combat my only issue is a dislike for the .5 second of lag that comes after casting certain spells. The pace of combat isn't something I have a problem with (although I can understand why others would) but the hitching makes it feel like the game isn't performing well, and detracts from the whole experience. I hope the combat enhancements in the expansion fix this problem, as it's the only issue that sticks out for me as a new player.
That said I think this is a great game, and I'll be here for a while at least, which is something that can't be said of other MMOs I've tried recently.
MUNDO!!
"Freedom is just another name for nothing left to lose" - Janis Joplin
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And that is exactly what they are fixing in SoM next week
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
And that is exactly what they are fixing in SoM next week
Ahh great news. No game is perfect, but that was the one problem that really stuck out for me. Great to hear it's only temporary
MUNDO!!
Lotro is a great PvE game, but it far from perfect as you have it in your post.
-Crafting is your normal everyday MMO crafting, WoW style with casting bar. While it is more complex that many crafting systems out there, it definately isn't the best nor the most unique.
-Instances are a mixed bunch. Book quest instances are great, most non-end game instances are boring and dull, end game instances have some nice fights, but top-notch? Not sure.
-Customisation is good, but dont expect CoH or something. Gear wise, you will always see people looking alike, as 1 set is dominant at end game, and crafts are dominant non-end.
-You also forgot the housing system, which is quite good in Lotro.
Lotro IS a solid experience though, I agree with that.
1 + 1 = 2... Unless it CRITS!
"Freedom is just another name for nothing left to lose" - Janis Joplin
.jpg)
Lotro is a great PvE game, but it far from perfect as you have it in your post.
-Crafting is your normal everyday MMO crafting, WoW style with casting bar. While it is more complex that many crafting systems out there, it definately isn't the best nor the most unique.
-Instances are a mixed bunch. Book quest instances are great, most non-end game instances are boring and dull, end game instances have some nice fights, but top-notch? Not sure.
-Customisation is good, but dont expect CoH or something. Gear wise, you will always see people looking alike, as 1 set is dominant at end game, and crafts are dominant non-end.
-You also forgot the housing system, which is quite good in Lotro.
Lotro IS a solid experience though, I agree with that.
I did not say it was perfect. Also, you are extremely wrong about players looking alike. You can't find a non-staged image to back up that claim. The cosmetic system makes that highly unlikely, to the point of extremely rare.
This is what I see:
The rest is subjective, so you are welcome to it. Thanks for reading at least
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me